Ailey Dance Troupe Performs Splendidly

It’s still early in the year, but the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble performance last Friday night in Coeur d’Alene was of such high quality there’s no doubt it will be one of top dance events of the year in this region. It was that good.

While classical ballet benefits from the richness of traditions that transcend the decades, good modern dance is sometimes more stimulating intellectually. The storytelling is often less linear.

The Alvin Ailey dancers opened the program with “ISBA,” a dance created in the early ‘80s by Ailey. The dance is a sensual and joyful glimpse of a couple courting - not an unusual theme for ballet.

But this dance was set to the New Age music of pianist George Winston, and the movement was influenced by African tribal culture. While the juxtaposition of New Age music and African-inspired movement could be awkward, in this case the contrast was a powerful and arresting element.

All of the dancers in this company are top-flight, but even among a group of this caliber, Kevin Boseman stood out. He captured the rapt attention of the audience in “ISBA” and again as the snake in “In The Rainforest.”

Perhaps because of the tradition of African-American dance companies performing jazz, the Alvin Ailey troupe included a jazzy “Escapades” on the program of three dances. However, of the three, it was the most predictable and least interesting.

Where one of the strengths of classical ballet is its consistency in movements, one of the aspects of modern dance that makes it most stimulating is the ability to change - in movement, music and content.

The company’s newest dance, “In The Rainforest,” was premiered in Boise just on Jan. 11. It’s a mournful dance rich with symbolism and auditory elements drawn from the rainforest; the playing of gourds and seed pods and animal-skin drums accented the music.

The Coeur d’Alene Performing Arts Alliance deserves an extended ovation for bringing this dance ensemble to the Inland Northwest. It requires a certain amount of courage to contract with a major modern dance company for a performance in a region that doesn’t yet have a tradition of supporting this type of dance.

Let’s hope the nearly filled North Idaho College Boswell Auditorium was encouragement enough to bring other similar performances to this area.